Follow the Stars: A Ben and Grace Stone Origin Story
Chapter 1
Grace's Point of View
Fall Semester, 2000. Georgetown University
Grace stood in front of the announcement board at the student union and pulled a tab off of the advertisement for math tutoring. When she got back to her dorm room she would call the number. She hated to ask for help and perpetuate the myth that girls were bad at math, because nothing could be farther from the truth. Grace was smart. But, math had never been her strongest subject. She loved to cook and create magic in the kitchen. However, when you were the daughter of one of the top biochemists in the Washington D.C area, you were expected to follow in the footsteps of your father. . So, Grace found herself majoring in biochemistry. Chemistry meshed well with her love of cooking, which required more than a bit of chemical magic. Her father had always told her that America accepted his plea for refugee protection because he was the best in his field and he expected nothing less than protection from his daughter. He wasn't the only one who wanted her to do her best. Grace had pretty high standards too.
She picked her books up and stuffed them in her backpack as she glanced up at the clock. She was late for her calculus 202 class and she knew the TA who taught the class was a hard ass who locked the door a minute after class started. She was having enough trouble as it was. She couldn't miss class. She slid into a seat at the back of the auditorium with only a minute to spare. Grace settled in, with 200 other students, for 45 minutes of confusion and anxiety.
The TA droned on about some mathematical theory or another. She realized she was probably being too hard on him. After all he was considered to be a mathematical genius and was one of the youngest graduating students in the history of the university and he had tested out of all the lower math classes. He knew it too. He thought he was the smartest man in the room and he was probably right. She doodled in her note book and wrote down a new recipe for chicken tandoori as his assistant was passing back the most recent quizzes. The perky, blond undergrad slapped Grace's quiz down so hard that it snapped Grace right out of her chicken fueled day dream. Grace groaned as she turned over her paper. A B+ wasn't good enough. If her father found out, he would make her move back home and insist that she study 24/7. Grace loved living on campus. She loved the social aspect of campus life. Most of all, she loved that her quad of dorm rooms shared a kitchen. She could cook to her hearts content. At home, her father employed a cook and the kitchen was off limits. Students filed out of the lecture hall as class ended. Grace looked down at the slip of paper. She vowed to call the minute she got back to her room and set up and appointment for tutoring.
That B+ stared at Grace like a demon from hell. Her father had given her a satellite phone for emergencies and insisted that she carry it with her at all times. Most of her friends had cell phones, but Grace's father felt that a satellite phone was more reliable. Cellular coverage was great in the city, but he wanted Grace to be able to reach him no matter where either of them roamed . Her father traveled a lot for work and he always carried his own satellite phone. She was certain that he meant tutoring emergencies. She pulled out the phone and was about to call the number on the slip of paper, when she was rudely interrupted by the voice of the TA.
"Are you planning on sitting there all day? I need to lock up the room." There was a note of sarcasm in his voice.
Grace looked up and saw that he wasn't even facing her. He was writing some complex mathematical formula on the board.
"Did Ben Stone have eyes in the back of his head?" She wondered to herself. He probably did mathematical formulas for fun.
"I counted the students as they left. Only 199 left the room and none were absent today" He answered as if he could read her mind. "I really do need to lock up." His voice softened this time.
He didn't turn around until she had left the auditorium.